giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Sept 28, 2012 13:58:55 GMT -5
I'll probably get one this year and make the kids get one. But, I have a baby at home that won't turn 1 until after the flu season is mostly done. My other two kids are school aged, and the baby goes to an inhome daycare place part time.
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Post by illinicheme on Sept 28, 2012 14:35:10 GMT -5
I've gotten a flu shot most every year for the past 8 or so (since working for employers that offer them for free). I missed one year when I changed jobs, and got laid out for five days with a terrible flu. Never again.
Last year I did get the flu (first time ever in a year I got a flu shot), but it only lasted for 24 hrs. I'm certain that my body was able to kick it almost immediately because I'd had the flu shot and already had antibodies built up and ready to go.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2012 15:12:37 GMT -5
I have gotten them every year since I got divorced. I think my original motivation was that I couldn't "afford" to get sick. I was working retail as a second job to make ends meet. If you don't work, you don't get paid. Then I changed to public school, and they usually give it for free. (One year there were no vaccines available except for high risk groups so I paid for it myself. I had to beg for it but got it because I teach.)
I've never had any side effects except for "not feeling well" the day I get it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2012 15:17:06 GMT -5
We don't do flu shots.
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Sept 28, 2012 16:21:48 GMT -5
Yes, get one every year. I work with low income, high risk population and am exposed to all kinds of nasties. Work gives us the flu shot every year. We are scheduled to get them Monday. The ONE year that there was a shortage (I think it was 2005) we didn't get our shots until mid December and I wound up with the flu...for Christmas. I've never been so sick in my life. I thought I was going to die and really didn't care if I did if that made it better. Ended up in the ER, out of work for over a week. It was the worst thing ever. Never have had any side effects from the shot. I will continue to get one every year as long as I work with the clientele I do...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2012 16:24:45 GMT -5
The last time I had a flu shot (4 years ago?) I got the flu. I lose about 1 workday to illness every 4 years. My company offers them and even gives us "Wellness points" (which help qualify for reduced health insurance premiums and free gifts) for getting one but I have no plans to.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Sept 28, 2012 16:28:23 GMT -5
I don't get the flu shot. I don't have kids and try to avoid them in general, I don't hand out with the elderly, and I don't work in an environment where one would be warranted.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2012 16:28:31 GMT -5
I hear they have a flu "mist" that you breath in your mouth or something? no shot required?
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kittensaver
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Post by kittensaver on Sept 28, 2012 16:29:06 GMT -5
Don't touch them. Don't touch any type of vaccination. I'm weird, I know, but 7 years ago I spent SEVERAL months - almost a year - in oral chelation therapy for heavy metal contamination (principally mercury and lead). Not sticking more mercury back into my body directly from my veins.
Not. Gonna. Happen.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Sept 28, 2012 17:00:06 GMT -5
My kids have their well child visit soon and I'm dreading it because they will be getting a flu shot. They act ridiculous when they have to get a shot. I'm making DH come with me this time because last year was a nightmare. -------------- I give vaccinations. Hate to break it to you, but kids usually act much better when their parents are NOT around. In the schools where I give Gardasil and chicken pox and hepatitis and tetanus shots, the kids grumble but are generally cooperative. At the clinics where they get the flu shot with their parents? Holy Cow! All hell breaks loose. The acting out is unbelievable.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Sept 28, 2012 17:02:00 GMT -5
I work for a healthcare organization, so even though I don't work directly with the public, our company offers them for free, and they even come to the campus to give them, so I just walk across the street. I think last year I did the FluMist, but mist or shot, it doesn't bother me.
Have I ever had the flu? No. I had really bad colds as a kid, but they were colds, and I grew out of them. And at the same time, I'm a health adult. I (and most of us on this board) am the part of the population that is least suseptible to the flu, or even if I do get it, getting really sick from it. However, I have had coworkers with compromised immune systems, and when MIL was alive, she was very susceptible (though she'd tell you she never got sick). And even though we don't have kids yet, we have friends who do and we spend time with them. Just like with the whooping cough vaccine (which DH and I have both gotten), we're not likely to get really sick and certainly not likely to die from the flu, but we spend time with people with who do have significant exposure to at risk populations. Herd immunity (and no, the flu shot is not true immunity, but it is better than nothing) is important- especially since some people like wvu with her egg allergy and kittensaver with her history of too much heavy metals in her blood, really shouldn't be getting the shots.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Sept 28, 2012 17:12:40 GMT -5
C'mon. I really want to know what you think about it. I don't think we should be injecting things like this into our bodies. I believe we should build immunity naturally. Right. Once you die from the flu, you won't need flu shots any more.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Sept 28, 2012 17:15:06 GMT -5
Nope. Never had a flu shot, never had the flu, don't work around kids or the elderly, and don't have kids. I also have the immune system of a lab rat, and am a little wary of the shot from memories of my Nana getting sick from it every year. why would I voluntarily introduce a virus to my system? As I said, I 've had extensive training in immunology. If you could explain to me how one gets sick from a dead virus, I'd love to hear it. I'm always open to learning new things.
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Green Eyed Lady
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Post by Green Eyed Lady on Sept 28, 2012 17:15:54 GMT -5
I wish some of you guys had been my mommy! The ass-kicking I would have gotten for throwing a fit in a public place over a shot would have hurt WAY worse than the shot. Maybe I was abused?
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Green Eyed Lady
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Post by Green Eyed Lady on Sept 28, 2012 17:16:57 GMT -5
That's how I understood it, too, but since I'm not a medical person, I wasn't going to say anything.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Sept 28, 2012 17:32:12 GMT -5
I always have gotten the shot. With asthma I'm more likely to get severly ill from the flu so my parents always got me one & I have continued with that.
I did get the flu once. I got the swine flu before the vaccine was available. So did my entire family. Similar to what GEL said, I thought I was going to die. I thought it was be easier to die because I had never been so sick in my life. After that experience I will never skip a flu shot because I hope to never be so sick again in my life.
I also will always get my kids the shot. However much they complain - a few seconds of pain from a needle is nothing compared to several days of high fevers & vomiting & potentially worse than that.
ETA - as far as all the different strains, since they vary the strains in the shots every year & the immunity lasts more than a year, then in theory getting the shot every year will protect you from most flus or at least keep you from getting as sick from the flu. It is just the random ones that pop up like swine flu that can still get you.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Sept 28, 2012 18:23:37 GMT -5
It is just the random ones that pop up like swine flu that can still get you. ------------ The swine flu was very, very similar to the Spanish flu of 1918, which killed about 30 million people. The pandemic killed more folks than World War 1 or the Black Death. Therefore, the people who survived the pandemic had some antibodies to the swine flu, and were less at risk than younger, healthier people. It was the kids and young adults who were dropping like flies. A frail 90 yr old had a better chance than a robust 22 year old.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2012 18:39:12 GMT -5
DS and I get the flu shot every year. DH can't because of his egg allergy. I have asthma and he is sensitive to respiratory illnesses. The year the H1N1 vaccine came out DS wasn't quite one yet. So we went in every two weeks five times for shots, twice for the regular flu, twice for the H1N1, and once for his one year shots. I was thrilled to find out that people who got the H1N1 shot might have gotten a broader immunity to different types of flues because of it's structure. DS takes it like a champ. I don't make a big deal about it but I do get my flu shot in the ped's office so DS can see me get it first. The milkshake after always helps. I also updated my pertussis vax last year because I work with newborns.
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Tired Tess
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Post by Tired Tess on Sept 28, 2012 18:39:25 GMT -5
Never had it. I can get it at work for free. When I spoke with my Dr. he said that I'm in good health and have no risks, i.e., diabetes, asthma,or resp problems. I asked him about my children and he didn't feel they needed it either. Also, HE doesn't get one but does have two of his children get the shot due to their asthma issues. DH gets one every year. The first year, after the shot, he was awfully sick. That has never happened again.
My Mom didn't start getting her shot until she was 75.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Sept 28, 2012 18:40:07 GMT -5
My best friend in the whole world is a vegan, organic, no sugar, no-pesticide, no-chemical, all-natural, multiple supplement popper (and a pain in the ass). She absolutely refused to put that "poison" in her body. I refrained from "Neener, neener, I told you so" while she was on the ventilator in the hospital, because she couldn't breathe on her own after catching the flu. When she came home six weeks later, I let her have it with both barrels. She gets her shots now.
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Sept 28, 2012 18:42:55 GMT -5
I got my flu shot in August. I'm high risk (asthma and diabetes) and have been faithfully getting an annual flu shot for the last three decades. My wonderful DH is active duty military and also gets an annual flu shot.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2012 18:43:54 GMT -5
Even if you aren't particularly vulnerable you can help others by getting the flu shot. It helps prevent transmission through groups of people. I can't remember where I read it but elderly adults that live in neighborhoods with lots of children are more likely to die from the flu because of transmission.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Sept 28, 2012 19:02:45 GMT -5
Even if you aren't particularly vulnerable you can help others by getting the flu shot. --------------- Oh, absolutely. It's called herd immunity and it protects those who are unable to tolerate the shot or want the protection, but not the risk. Look at what would happen before the advent of flu shots. It's not pretty. virus.stanford.edu/uda/
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Sept 28, 2012 20:50:39 GMT -5
I usually don't get the flu shot since I haven't had the flu in 20 years. DH hasn't gotten it either. We're a bit behind on DS's shots and haven't done a flu shot yet for him ever. That said, I did get the H1N1 flu shot when I was pregnant with DS since our area was hit pretty hard by it (schools in the city were being cancelled due to the number of kids out sick). Since DH and DS do get out a little bit, I'm thinking we all should get it this fall (I'm pregnant with #2). It is tough to say. We do intend on DS to get all of his shots, we were just holding off until he was talking better (DH had some bad reactions to shots as a child) and unfortunately that took longer than we anticipated.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Sept 28, 2012 21:44:19 GMT -5
I also updated my pertussis vax last year because I work with newborns. Besides updating my pertussis vax, my NP at the OB's office was pushing for me to get a MMR vax because my immunity was low. I asked what I needed it for. She said "Well, in case you want to get pregnant again." I gently had to remind her that I told her I wanted my husband to get a vas, in the meantime I'm on the pill, and that I don't ovulate unless I shoot myself up with hormones. (I've ovulated on my one once in the past 11 years). I don't really think this screams "I want another baby." Rather, I told her "No thanks." She continued to give me a hard time. Finally I told her that I'll get the vax when there are MMR outbreaks like we've have for whooping cough. That finally shut her up.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2012 8:37:41 GMT -5
I've never gotten the flu shot and none of my kids have ever had the flu shot. I had the flu once in my life and my kids have never had it. I never get sick. The last time I went to a doctor for an illness was 9+ years ago when my youngest brought strep home from daycare and shared it with all of us. My DD is a junior at college and other than a few colds, she hasn't been sick even with being around 30,000 other students. We also opted out of the meningitis vaccine.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2012 10:32:05 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2012 10:40:37 GMT -5
So even the CDC who for the longest time said the flu shot was 70-90% effective downgrades efficacy to 50-70%. That is a big deal. The 2011-12 vaccine was only 52% effective even by the CDC's estimate. www.cdc.gov/flu/pastseasons/1112season.htmAnyhow, I've never gotten the "vaccine". Hard to call it a vaccine if it only "works" half the time. And too many stories about people that get them and then are sick for days. Put me in the weirdo camp that doesn't like to put crap like that in my body. Maybe health experts like weltschmerz can laugh at me some day when I'm on a ventilator and claim it's because I didn't get a flu shot that only works half the time.
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Green Eyed Lady
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Post by Green Eyed Lady on Sept 29, 2012 12:00:34 GMT -5
I'm on day 6 of the flu. There is no way in hell I would let my children (if I had them) go through this if there was ANYTHING I could do about it. And, to me, a 70% chance is better than nothing. This stuff isn't a bad cold. It is "flat on your back thinking you may die with an elephant sitting on your chest, whole body feeling like you've been beaten" illness. And as someone has said, the secondary stuff you can get because your immune system is down is even worse.
Get your shots!
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Sept 29, 2012 12:07:20 GMT -5
I'm on day 6 of the flu. There is no way in hell I would let my children (if I had them) go through this if there was ANYTHING I could do about it. And, to me, a 70% chance is better than nothing. This stuff isn't a bad cold. It is "flat on your back thinking you may die with an elephant sitting on your chest, whole body feeling like you've been beaten" illness. And as someone has said, the secondary stuff you can get because your immune system is down is even worse. Get your shots! Absofreakinlutely!
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